Podcast transcript 
2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games
I’m speaking with Chair of the Accounts Commission Douglas Sinclair about our third report on the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
The report covers delivery against budget, costs to public bodies and progress made towards achieving lasting legacy benefits.
1.	Douglas: what are your main findings?
We found that the Games were delivered successfully and under budget. The cost to the public sector was £37.2 million less than budgeted. The project had strong leadership and organisations worked well together. Looking ahead, clear legacy plans are in place and the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council now need to build on these to ensure long-term benefits are achieved.

2.	Can you tell me more about the budget and costs?
The Organising Committee and Police Scotland had good financial control over their budgets. Public funding for the Games totalled £424.5 million, £37.2 million less than expected. The use of income from sources such as ticket sales and sponsorship brought the total cost of the Games to £543 million, that’s around £32 million less than the agreed budget of £575 million in November 2013.

3.	What can be learned from this project?
Strong controls and good planning resulted in a £37.2 million underspend of public money, money which will now be returned to the public sector.

The partner organisations and businesses worked very well together to make the Games a great success. Because this is a strong example of successful partnership working it’s really important for learning from this project to be shared within the public sector, to help future work.

4.	What progress has been made towards achieving a lasting legacy, and what needs to happen next?

Working to ensure a legacy has been part and parcel of planning for the Games, and we've seen a good start on this. With ongoing pressures in public sector budgets it is going to be challenging for the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council to ensure all the planned legacy benefits are achieved. 

They need to continue to evaluate the impact to ensure the Games achieves its longer-term aims such as a healthier population and better life chances for people living in the East End of Glasgow.

Thanks Douglas. And finally, just to add for anyone interested in finding out more about this topic, that our two previous reports were published in November 2009 and March 2012. They’re available on our website.